Synopsis
Based on nearly 40 years of teaching, this book thoroughly describes the principles and fundamentals of insect physiology. Readers will quickly understand the terminology needed to navigate the voluminous, scattered literature in the field. With approximately 1500 references and more than 240 figures and tables, Insect Physiology and Biochemistry is useful as a core text for upper division and graduate students, as well as a valuable reference for scientists who work with insects in genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and behavior.
Review
Written in a straightforward and highly readable style, Insect Physiology and Biochemistry is the hallmark of an experienced teacher who has dedicated 40 years of his career to teaching insect physiology and biochemistry...The principles, fundamentals, and illustrative examples provided are certainly a major milestone as an update of previous textbooks on insect physiology and biochemistry. The title will be an excellent sourcebook for students in entomology and an invaluable reference for scientists in various disciplines of insect science and its application.
- Insect Science and its Application, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2002
... a scholarly work ... generally well written and the author makes his arguments effectively ... a substantive contribution.
- Jon Harrison, Arizona State University
... a welcome addition to the literature.
-Thomas Miller, University of California, Riverside
Textbooks serve principally to introduce students to the basics of a discipline and awareness of the expanding literature of the subject. The recently published textbook Insect Physiology and Biochemistry by Professor James L. Nation of the University of Florida accommodates very well the need for a contemporary introduction to the subject. ...Nation has clearly set the goal of demonstrating the basic aspects of insect physiology and biochemistry to undergraduate students largely free of the complexities required by more advanced students. This is achieved in a remarkably readable and well-illustrated volume... Nation has a splendid feel for his subject and his direct and lucid presentations clearly derive from his classroom lecturing experience. He concisely essays the quanta of knowledge to address the introductory needs of students, yet provides the references appropriate to lead the serious student well beyond. ...Reviewers are supposed to find and detail things they do not like about the books they judge, butI am unable to find areas of neglect or errors of fact.
Insect Physiology and Biochemistry provides an excellent introduction of the subjects to the undergraduate for whom it was written and will serve as a primer for the non-specialist eager to employ insects as their research models. The text is clear, well arranged, and a pleasure to read. It presents the broad concepts and focuses on contemporary references rather than exhaustive inclusion of the contributions of the pioneering investigators of insect sciences so well documented in previous texts and monographs. In all, This textbook is an impressive works, emblematic of Nations' ability to present clearly the salient highlights of insect physiology and biochemistry. Its wide adoption as a teaching text is assured.
-William S. Bowers, The University of Arizona, Tucson, USA, Journal of Chemical Ecology, Vol. 28, No. 12, December 2002.
The book is well written, straightforward and easy to read. ... For each topic, the relevant terminology is well defined and examples describing various principles are drawn from different insect taxa and illustrated in clear and concise diagrams or models. These features make reading of the book more interesting and pleasurable.
The book chapters are also organized in a logical fashion that follows the life history and physiological processes in insects. ...Where descriptions are brief, references for detailed information are provided in the text. ... I particularly like the author's effort to include, where appropriate under the various topics, a brief description of the practical applications of the knowledge within the context of insect pest management and control.
The principles, fundamentals and illustrative examples provided are certainly a major milestone as an update of previous textbooks on insect physiology ad biochemistry. It will be an excellent textbook for students in entomology and an invaluable reference book for scientists in various disciplines of insect science and its application.
- Baldwyn Torto, Ph.D., Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology
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